Finding Neverland

Parents need to know that Finding Neverland is a 2004 movie in which Johnny Depp plays J.M. Barrie, a struggling playwright who finds the inspiration to write the timeless classic Peter Pan after befriending a young widow played by Kate Winslet and her four sons. While it's about the background to the creation of Peter Pan, this is an emotional drama rather than lighthearted fare for kids. Barrie's marriage is falling apart as he spends more and more of his leisure time playing games with the four boys (causing some in Barrie's neighborhood to gossip about a possible affair with the widow and even inappropriate relations with the boys), and his wife has a new lover. These boys are still struggling to come to grips with the death of their father and face even more challenges when their mother becomes sick. While they're playing cowboys and Indians, there are some outdated references to Native Americans ("redskins," "Injuns"). As he observes through a curtain how bored the audience is with the play he has written before Peter Pan, Barrie asks an usher if he thinks the play is "shite" and "crap." In terms of violence, during a Peter Pan rehearsal, one of the boys, raised aloft by the ropes that create the illusion of Peter Pan "flying," is accidentally dropped from high in the air, resulting in a broken wrist. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails.